Editor’s note: Pulse of the Voters is a three-part series of stories highlighting the views of voters nationally, regionally and locally. The focus of this story, the last in the series, is on local Democrats and how they feel about political issues of the day.

Ken Hines moved to Limestone County 12 years ago from Kentucky.

He grew up in California and considers himself a “lifelong Democrat.”

Hines, who was elected chairman of the Limestone County Democrats last year, recently weighed in on a number of topics promoted by the Democratic Party — climate change, immigration, how government can make college more affordable and health care costs.

Climate change

Hines is passionate about the environment and the oft-debated topic of climate change and the use of alternative energy sources.

“Alternative energy sources are here, regardless of what a person might believe about climate change,” he said. “There’s nothing that can happen with fossil fuels except they can become more scarce and more expensive. I don’t know why anyone is resisting alternative energy sources right now.”

Unlike some who believe the concept of climate change is a myth, Hines believes it is a very real problem. He said there is scientific proof to support rising sea levels and melting ice caps, but he explained it’s more than just those things.

“It’s a violent assault touching all human life,” he said.

Limestone resident Elayne Shelton, who helps others register to vote, takes her role seriously. She is publicly guarded on some issues because she believes her political views should not influence those she’s registering. However, as a Democrat and vice-chairwoman of the Limestone County Democrats, she’s also very passionate about several topics, including climate change, immigration and gun control. .

Shelton, 64, grew up in southeast Huntsville, earned a degree from Auburn University, and has lived in Limestone County for 10 years.

She doesn’t consider herself a climate change expert, but she believes there is something to the science. Shelton’s father was a scientist, and she believes scientists who say the Earth is in a state of emergency.

She believes there should be a greater reliance on alternative energy sources. She pointed out Alabama ranks low in that category, particularly where solar and wind energy sources are concerned.

“Why we continue to deny (climate change) is largely political,” she said. “It’s like what the tobacco companies did to us when they denied smoking was addictive and harmful to our health.”

James “Jim” Hickman, who retired from the armed forces after more than 30 years, said for most of his life he didn’t affiliate with any political party because he was in a leadership position.

After he got out of the military, he considered himself an independent voter. He later realized he was voting mostly for Democrats, so he decided he would call just call himself a Democrat.

When it comes to the 2020 presidential election, Hickman said climate change is an existential issue he cares about.

“There is only one planet,” he said. “You only get one chance. All of these scientists can’t be wrong.”

Hickman said he’s read the latest summaries on climate change and human beings’ involvement in that change. He’s also read what actions the human race needs to take by 2030 and 2050.

“I don’t find a reason to disbelieve it,” he said. “I do know that we have to do something about it and we have to try and stay below that 2 degree Celsius increase. I know there are goals in the Paris accord. It was 1.5 degrees Celsius for awhile. I can’t imagine why anybody does not believe it.”

Hickman said people can see it happening all around them.

“The way I look at it, there are billions of people who live less than 5 feet above sea level,” he said, adding he thinks about Bangladesh, where people are living at sea level. “If we get that rise in sea level, where are they going?”

He also sees climate change as a national security threat.

“I happen to know that the Department of Defense — before anybody was talking about it — we were planning for it,” Hickman said, adding it’s a “top shelf issue.”

Immigration

Lloyd Davies, who considers himself middle of the road when it comes to politics, said he voted for Donald Trump.

But after incidents like Charlottesville, he decided Trump was not who he signed up for.

“I decided to starting looking at the other side,” Davies said.

He believes Trump hasn’t been helpful when it comes to many issues.

Davies said he doesn’t understand why Trump doesn’t want to make the Mueller report public.

“He is telling people in his administration not to testify about certain things,” Davies said. “If he says there’s no collusion, then why is he hiding? That bothers me.”

Immigration reform is one of Davies’ issues.

“Personally, I don’t have a problem with someone coming to this country as long as they do it legally,” Davies said.

He said as far as people seeking asylum when coming to the border and putting children in cages and separating them from families “that is something that is very wrong.”

He grew up learning that America is a melting pot. “I’ve always had that philosophy,” he said. “Everyone should be able to come in and have that opportunity.” Shelton is upset by what’s happening at the U.S.-Mexico border, particularly the hundreds of adults and children who are detained there. She said all Americans are immigrants, with the exception of Native Americans. “But we just about wiped them out,” she said.

Shelton believes Americans should continue to welcome migrants just as migrants have been welcomed for hundreds of years.

When asked if she believes migrant workers are taking jobs away from Americans, Shelton was skeptical. She lived in Houston for a while and found there was always migrant labor available for whomever needed it.

“I live in the country and I’m constantly trying to find somebody local to do good work at wages of 12 to 20 dollars per hour,” she said. “I find it difficult finding rural Americans willing to do that kind of work.”

Hickman also gave some insight on immigration reform.

“Since President Ronald Reagan, we haven’t really done anything,” he said. “We know that the immigration system does not work for us. There wouldn’t be 11 to 12 million undocumented people here if we didn’t have a need for them. They didn’t come here to go on vacation.”

He also talked about how the border wall is still in the United States.

“In some cases, that wall is a mile from the border,” he said. “Half of the border is the Rio Grande River, roughly. The second that boat crosses that middle channel, they’re in the United States. You can’t build anything in the middle of the river. You are not going to be arresting people in the middle of the river. So, consequently, even if you detain them, they are already in the United States. There is a well-founded right to apply for asylum. You are not in the United States illegally if you are applying for asylum. You are following United States law.”

Hickman said immigration reform would mean taking a look at that system and knowing its weak points.

“Its weak points are in the Department of Justice,” he said.

College affordability

Patty Wilkes, a psychotherapist in Athens, said her work has allowed her to make connections with people who influence her views on certain topics. For example, clients who struggle with tens of thousands in college debt have left her thinking positively of a nation that offers free tuition to its students.

“The idea of having some kind of program that would allow people to become educated, informed, contributing students without the weight of all that debt on their back is a marvelous idea,” she said.

In speaking on the rising cost of college, Hines explained he used to work during the summer and save up enough to attend college. He pointed out it’s not that way anymore.

“I know by the time my children started college, they weren’t going to make enough (to pay off student loans),” he said. “My grandchildren are now coming to that age, and I have no idea how my son and his wife, who are professional people, can afford to send three children to college. It’s overwhelming.”

Some Democratic presidential candidates have previously touted the concept of free college for all. Hines believes the simple solution may be to look at other countries and see how they are doing things. He also believes while technical education is important, it doesn’t touch all the bases.

“As we look around and recognize how cultures and nations and societies interact with one another, and how communications are linking us together, our ability to live together is being tested,” he said. “You don’t get a broader understanding of history and cultures with technical education.”

Health care

As an older woman, Wilkes said she has had the chance to hear from people who struggle with medical expenses. She said they often wait until their situation is dire enough for a trip to the emergency room, only to be told to follow up with a family physician.

“What family doctor? They can’t afford a family doctor,” she said.

She thinks mental health care is also in need of reform.

Hines, who is 72, said health care should be a concern to all Americans, no matter how old. He explained the average person spends around $320,000 on health care costs in their lifetime, but it’s not spent in equal chunks. He said a small portion is spent up to age 40, while a little more is spent between the ages of 40 and 65.

“You’ll spend half of your medical expenses from age 65 on. That’s when Medicare kicks in,” he said.

He’s perplexed by the debate over private versus public health care because the United States already spends public funds to provide health care to members of the military, prisoners and on Medicare and Medicaid.

“It would not be overwhelming to expand public health care and cover everyone,” he said. “We would be like a lot of other countries.”

Gun control

Wilkes believes mental health issues and gun control need to be considered together.

She said “more intensive emotional care” is needed to relieve some of the necessity for stricter gun laws.

“I think we need more available, intensive, serious psychotherapy to catch people before they even want to buy the gun,” Wilkes said. “… Yes, I want gun control, but it’s not just gun control. It’s mental health care along with gun control.”

Hickman advocates more frequent background checks.

“The United States has always had laws about restricting the carry, use and type of weapons,” Hickman said. “It is American as apple pie. We’ve always had them.”

He said either you have background checks or you don’t. He thinks there should be background checks every time a gun changes hands as well as a way to track weapons.

“There’s nothing in the 2nd Amendment that says we can’t know who owns a weapon,” Hickman said. “I don’t care if government knows if I own a weapon.”

Shelton is also passionate about gun control, though she admitted it’s a tricky subject, particularly in the South. She believes stricter legislation is needed, particularly in regard to background checks.

“It’s far too easy to get ahold of very dangerous firearms,” she said. “I have relatives who have dangerous weapons who have no business owning those weapons. Assault weapons should not be in the hands of the public.”

Trade/wages

Trump has responded to China’s trade policies with stiff tariffs on imported goods.

Hines said he found it “unusual” that the United States began a trade war with China “by having a trade war with Canada and Europe.” He acknowledges China has been “a bad actor” regarding trade, but believes the United States should not have taken on China alone.

“A coordinated effort to bring China into line would be a good thing to do, and the U.S. participating would be a good thing to do,” he said. “I think the way things are being done right now is causing some pain that might not otherwise be caused. The president seems to think China is paying for this, but it’s going to come from the people in terms of production costs.

Hines is concerned by Trump’s willingness to continue to ratchet up the pressure on China.

“I don’t know what the alternatives are, but I’m not sure we’ve looked for alternatives,” he said.

Davies sees wages as a way to improve economic conditions.

He said the proposed $15-an-hour minimum wage is a pressing issue right now.

“We have plants here that pay $10, $11, $12 an hour,” Davies said, adding it’s hard for a family to make it.

“There are managers making $175,000 a year,” he said. “That’s more than three teacher salaries.”

Davies said a higher minimum wage is not a handout.

“People need to be able to have a living wage,” he said.

Mueller report

Few voters acknowledged reading special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, a report that cleared Trump and his campaign of conspiring with the Russians but also cited instances of possible obstruction of justice by the president in trying to shut down the inquiry.

Partisan battles over congressional investigations into the findings have dominated Washington since the report’s release April 18.

Hickman said there are two parts of the Mueller report that point to something “horrific.”

The first part was having one campaign that was anxious, ready and fully willing to collect dirt on an opposition candidate in our country and they didn’t care where it came from.

“The idea that none of them picked up the phone and called the FBI …,” Hickman said.

He said it harkens back to the election between George Bush and Al Gore, when Bush’s playbook was left on a table somewhere and a Democratic operative picked it up.

“First call went to law enforcement,” Hickman said, adding Trump wouldn’t have done that because he is corrupt.

The second part, Hickman said, is there doesn’t have to be an underlying crime for someone to obstruct justice.

“Seven-hundred former prosecutors signed that letter that said, ‘well, yeah, I would have tried him,’” Hickman said.

“What worries me is the rest of the world seeing we are doing nothing about the Russians,” Hickman said. “Guess who else has excellent cyber intelligence capabilities — Iran and North Korea.”

Hickman said he is not a fan of President Donald Trump. He said he wouldn’t have him as a squad leader in any unit of the armed forces he has been in.

“He is a man of absolutely no moral character,” he said. “I am absolutely mystified how character suddenly does not count in the highest official in this country.”

Hickman said the country is currently under autocratic leadership.

“I’ve been around the world enough to know an autocrat when I see one,” Hickman said.

Abortion

Some women feel like they haven’t even been consulted on the abortion issue, though it effects them most.

Wilkes thinks the government can handle health care and mental health care without having to govern a woman’s body or right to abortion. She admitted that at her age, abortion is not the personal issue it would have been in her youth, but that doesn’t stop her from supporting the right to choose.

“Nobody is going to tell me what I can do with my body, especially if becoming pregnant was not necessarily my choice,” Wilkes said. “… I think it’s a very long, philosophical discussion to determine whether or not that thing growing inside of me is a baby yet and does it have rights, but my rights come first. It’s my body that has to support that.”

— Editor Adam Smith, News Editor Lora Scripps and reporter Jessica Barnett contributed to this story.